MUMBAI: The government's recent move to allow foreign universities to establish campuses in India is seen facilitating collaborative research and opening up the domestic academic environment to the latest pedagogies and curriculum of the West even as global varsities learn more about a major emerging market economy.

The move could benefit millions of meritorious students who are rejected from the system due to the lack of seats in colleges. Ivy league institutes, which have ruled out any immediate intention of opening campus here, will continue to enhance their research tie-ups with local institutes and forge new forms of collaborations. Some tier-2 institutes could also make an entry.

"Existing relationships rely mostly on institutional initiative and facultyto-faculty collaboration. Having these world-class institutions in India will give a boost to high-quality research being done in the country," says Ajit Rangnekar, dean, Indian School of Business. Once the foreign universities are here, more collaboration will take place on varied fronts and Indian institutions will benefit from some of the modern pedagogic styles of these institutions, he says. Moreover, there will be better opportunities for the Indian talent pool in terms of faculty and educational experts.

Several of India's top management and engineering institutes, including the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) and Indian School of Business, already have various tieups with global varsities through faculty, student exchange and research. The government's move will further strengthen those associations and lead to exploring new tie-ups.

IIT Delhi, for the first time ever, is likely to offer a joint degree programme with Toyo University of Japan. The institute currently has research partnerships with Toyo University in bio nano. "Some other universities have also expressed interest and we are trying to look at various ways to collaborate," says Anurag Sharma, dean-academics at IIT Delhi. Research collaboration would be a key area once some of the global institutes register their physical presence here, says Suneet Tuli, deanresearch and development.

IIT Madras, which already has a joint doctoral programme with the National University of Singapore (NUS), is in the process of forming similar associations with University of Passau, Germany, Michigan State University, and NTHU Taiwan. These tie-ups to offer joint doctoral degrees include faculty collaboration, coaching, serving on each others' doctoral committee, etc. The value of co-existence lies more in research and other forms of collaboration, says R Nagarajan, dean - international and alumni relations at IIT Madras.

Last week, the government opened the doors for top foreign universities to set up campuses in India and award degrees, giving Indian students the opportunity to study in global institutions without leaving home or spending a fortune. The move has been welcomed by Indian institutes, academicians, and industry leaders. Among several associations with global institutes, IITB and Monash University in Australia have a tie-up in the form of the IITB-Monash Research Academy, where students are doing doctoral research.

"IIT Bombay's associations with international universities are primarily focused on postgraduate education and research. There may not be immediate opportunities for such interactions while these universities are starting up here. However, in the longer-term, we may seek collaborations in areas of mutual interest," says Prof Devang Khakhar, director, IIT Bombay. The vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge is in India to explore research partnerships with Indian institutes, academia and industry. The university is working with IIT-Bombay, among others in India, in the field of nanoscience and nano-technology. "We are looking for serious partnerships with Indian institutions based on excellence. Our focus will be on research and deep collaboration to jointly tackle some of the world's recent problems," says Prof Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, vicechancellor, University of Cambridge. This is also an opportunity for top institutes to showcase their research. "IIMs will get the opportunity to showcase their academic professionalism and research," says Prof S Raghunath, dean administration, IIM-B.